Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Below is a listing of the books I read in the month of June. All links go to my reviews.

1. The Lives of Tao, by Wesley Chu
2. The Oldest Living Things in the World, by Rachel Sussman
3. The End is Nigh, by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey
4. The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison
5. Defenders, by Will McIntosh
6. Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King
7. Bad for You, by Kevin Pyle and Scott Cunningham
8. Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
9. Mookie, by Mookie Wilson

Best Book of the Month: I'm flipping between Ancillary Justice and The Goblin Emperor, which makes me wonder what will happen when I'm putting together my best of the year list. Today, I'll say The Goblin Emperor.

Disappointment of the Month: The only real disappointment, per se, is Bad for You. It's a book that details "the war on fun" throughout history and tells much of the story through comic strip panels. I'm sure I knew that when I first put it on my "to read" list, but I had forgotten by the time I grabbed the book from the library. The first couple of examples were interesting, but it began to drag by the end.

Discovery of the Month: I had never heard of Wesley Chu before his Campbell nomination. I had a blast reading the first Tao novel and I will certainly be reading the next two.

Worth Noting: One thing that I think is extra awesome is that while The End is Nigh is the first of three apocalyptic anthologies from JJA and Howey, a number of the authors will be writing linked stories in each volume, so we'll be able to follow the changing world of each apocalyptic setting. Oh, and it's one hell of a good anthology. Will McIntosh is always solid and the Defenders is worth checking out. And for you New York children of the 80's, Mookie Wilson's autobiography must be read. It's an interesting contrast from what I remember of reading Gary Carter's bio when I was younger.